Motor-operated material handling equipment



Feb. 12, 1952 C. J. POTTER OPERATED MATERIAL HANDLING EQUIPMENT MOTOR- 6 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Aug. 9, 1947 sw g 6 Sheets-Sheet 2 C. J. POTTER MOTOR-OPERATED MATERIAL HANDLING EQUIPMENT Feb. 12, 1952 Filed Aug. 9, 1947 ATTORNE F P MJ w 1 w m C 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 Feb. 12, 1952 c. J. POTTER MOTOR-OPERATED MATERIAL HANDLING EQUIPMENT Filed Aug. 9, 1947 II II II II AI n II II II II 11 II II II 1| .I I II II H II II II II II )l II II II "-1 II I II I I p Feb. 12, 1952 c, J TE 2,585,169

MOTOR-OPERATED MATERIAL HANDLING EQUIPMENT Filed Aug. 9} 1947 6 Sheets-Sheet 4 lw- I1"- Ill h 5'6" J .l I II 5 59! I II/ 57 INVENTOR. Clarence JJoiter ATTORNEY.

1952 c. J. POTTER MOTOR-OPERATED MATERIAL HANDLING EQUIPMENT 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Aug. 9, 1947 mvbx INVENTOR.

Feb. 12, 1952 c, J POTTER I 2,585,169

. MOTOR-OPERATED MATERIAL HANDLING EQUIPMENT Filed Aug. 9, 1947 6 Sheets-Sheet 6 Patented Feb. 12, 1952 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFIE MOTOR- OPERATED MATERIAL DLING EQUIPMENT Clarence J. Potter, Fullerton, Califi, assignor to Triangle Grain Company; Bellflower Galif.

Application August'9, 1947, Serial'No. 767,728

This invention relates to motor operatedmaterial handling equipment, and has as its principal.

object to provide a practical and efficient motoroperated vehicle for handling loose materials in bulk, and transporting them fromplace to place,

and unloading them in receiving bins, buildings and other places, Whetheron the level, or atment whereby the material being handled is protectedfrom the elements, and from dustand' dirt, and from open exposure during the-handling operation, and with a minimum of handling;

To provide a spherical hopper-like connection from the vehicle conveyor or discharge tothe swinging and adjustable unloading conveyor arm, whereby to avoid loss or exposure-of the material being unloaded;

To provide whereby hydraulic power means'can be used in connection with the operation oftheunloading mechanism; and, in general, to provide a practical, convenient, efficient andeco nomical mechanism of the character referredto.

for handling loose materials.

In order to explain the-invention more in detail, I have illustrated one embodiment thereof on the accompanying six sheets of drawings, which I will now describe.

Figure 1 is a vertical sectional view of .a motor operated material handling equipment, embdy ingmy invention, taken on the line I-l' of Fig-:2;

Figure 2 is a longitudinal sectional View; taken on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Figure 3 is a horizontal sectionalv viewtaken' on the angular line.3--3 of Fig- 2;

Figure 4 is a fragmentary sectionalviewataken on the line 4-4 of Figs. 2 and..3,.i.with parts;

broken away to reducethesize of thenview;

Figure 5 is a sectional view taken on the line 55 of Fi 3;

Figure 6 is an enlarged sectional detail taken.

on the line 66 of Fig.;5;

Figure 7 is an enlarged sectional view takenron the line ,'i--I of Fig. 2, with the elevatingconveyor lowered into the horizontal position; 4

Figure 8 is a fragmentary side elevation of the end of the invention. With'a modifiedspformz'of.

unloading conveyor;

5. Claims. (01. 214-8316) 2.. Figure-9 is a fragmentary sectionalviewlook ingat line 9 -9, ofFig. 8;

Figure 10 is a sectional viewon line I'Il-I(I Fig. 9;

Figure 11'- isa sectionalview onlin'e III 'I I,

Fig; 8; through the modifiedform of unlo'ading conve yor Figure 12 is-a sectionalv'iew through a con veyor but showing pusher slats on an endless spro-cket'chain, moving on a'fioor';

Figure 13 is a side elevation of "the'inven tion' showing hydraulic power means for operatingfthe discharge or feed elevator and its screw feed;

Figure 14 is a fragmentary elevation a't the rear, looking on line I4I4', of Fig. 3; and

Figure 15 is an end view of the'pa'rts seen from line' l5-I 5, Fig. 13.

Referring now 'in" detail to the drawings, my invention is intended to'be mountedon, andto be a part of a motor truck or carriei, and it'can' be of any suitable type and si'zei In the present form used for explanatory purposes, amotor truck or vehicle having the channel iron side" members I3, I3, with connecting :cross members I4, I4, springs I5, I5, carrier wheels I6, lfijand the usual motor driving '1 mechanisms and con"- nection's, aswill be understood from the general 1 showing in Figs. 1, 2 and 3, in particular.

Mounted on :this carrier mechanism, of *what-= ever type it may be, isa materialholdingibody, designated H, which may be of a single'chamber; or dividediinto several bins or compartments for the "material or materials to be transported, as may be best suited to the particular business;

The presentbody-is formed with intermediate" framemembers of T-form, as'at I8, I8; and with cross 'ti'erods, as I9, I9, to give strengtli and" rigidityto'the body.

The top of the body is provided-with two covermembers, :each Y composed of 'two hinged sectionsf as I9 andi'zllphinged to the body, as 'at 2|, and

hinged together, as at 22, with weather guards;-

as 23 and 24 over said joints. This protects from rainand dust,- and makes it: possible to=fold said coversections back'in' open position, as seen. in FigxLxwhere one pair :of cover sections are -indi--- cated in openposit'ion in'light' broken "lines. Sup?- portingnre'st-s, as 25,15, .are provided forsaid cover sections.

Inzthe bottomof saidbodyyare slide doors,"-as'-- 26' and 21, operated by-t-racks, as 28 and 29, and gears128'i .and '29, withioperatinghand wheels," as 30 and 3I,IFig. 1. Said-slide doors are-shown to betone'above'the other and adjacent each other, as will be seen inFigsx- 1 and :2; said slide do'o'rs being slightly :bowed orwarc-hed, as-will-be'seen' in Figure 1. One of said doors is opened to permit material to pass therethrough, and afterward the other is opened, as will be understood from Fig. 2. The operating gear 28' has a housing 32 over it. Longitudinally extending, spaced, U-shaped trough members, as 33 and 34, are shown in section in Fig. 1, open at their upper sides to receive material from said body or bin, as will be understood. The cover or housing for said gears is broken away in a spot in Fig. 1 to show the gears and their shafts therein.

A shaft 35 extends lengthwise of said body, above said gear 28, and this shaft has bearings at its opposite ends, as at 36 and 31, and has a guard or housing, as 38 over it,- as seen in Figs. 1 and 2. The top of said guard or housing, as seen in Fig. 2, is of inverted V-form and extends down along the opposite sides of the shaft 35.

By the operation of the hand wheels 30 or 3I, the slide doors can be selectively opened and closed to allow material to pass down into the U shaped troughs 33 and 34, for conveyance to the discharge ends thereof, now to be described.

In said troughs 33 and 34 are two screw members, 39 and 40, having suitable bearings at their :1.

opposite ends, as illustrated in Fig. 7,, which is an enlarged sectional view taken on the line ll' of Fig. 2. Said bearings are designated as a whole, 39 and 40', with suitable supporting arms or brackets 4 I and 42.

The shaft 35, running lengthwise of the housing 30 in the bottom of the body, is the drive shaft for also operating the screw propeller I2, and for this purpose it is provided with a sprocket 43, over which runs an endless sprocket chain 44, as seen in Fig. 4, part of which is broken out to reduce the size of the view. Said sprocket chain runs over two sprockets, as and 46, on said screw feed members 39 and 40. Said endless sprocket chain is power driven by the sprocket 41, which is on the shaft of the truck power take-01f.

At the other or discharge end of said U-shaped troughs 33 and 34, and said screw feed members 39 and 40, is ahemispherical receiving member, designated 48, pivotally supported and open to receive material from said troughs, and with which telescopes another hemi-spherical member 49, mounted on and moving with a tubular delivery member or tube, made with two sections, as and 50, as seen in Fig. 2, and also in Fig. 3. Said spherical members are pivotally supported on a shaft 5|, having bearings 52 at its opposite ends, with a beveled gear 53 thereon, in mesh with another beveled gear 54, at the lower end of a vertical shaft 55, having its Vertical bearings at 55 and 51, with ball bearings, as 56 and 51', and the upper end of which vertical shaft 55 is housed in a case 58 with beveled gear 59 thereon, in mesh with a beveled gear 60, on the end of the long shaft 35, before referred to and running through the bottom of said body, as seen in Fig. 2.

On the end of said shaft 5 I Fig. '7, is a sprocket gear SI, on which runs a sprocket chain 62, to a sprocket gear 63, on a short shaft 54, in a housing at one side of said spherical members 43 and 49. Said shaft 64 is provided with a beveled gear 06, in mesh with a beveled gear 61, on a short shaft 68 having a sprocket 69, over which runs a sprocket chain 10 to a sprocket gear 'II on the shaft 12 of a screw propeller I3, in said pivoted material discharge member or arm 50.

This construction and arrangement makes it possible for the discharge conveyor 50 to be raised up and down, and to be swung horizontally from .mentary sectional view in Fig. 6, with a hinged channel member 15 placed around the same as shown and secured together, as with a hinge I6 and butterfly nut connection at I8.

As a means for raising and lowering said discharge tube, I have shown a Windlass II, with drum l8 and cable I9 thereon, said cable being 7 extended up over a pulley 80, in a swinging support 8I, thence down under a pulley 82 on the discharge tube 50, thence back up to a second pulley in said swinging support 8 I, and thence to a place of attachment 83 on the outer end of said discharge tube 50', as indicated in Fig. 2.

When said discharge arm or tube is to be shortened, and the outer end 50' thereof removed, said cable I9 is detached at 83, and attached to said tube, as at 84, indicated in light broken lines, Fig. 2. The swinging pulley member BI is shown in enlarged detail in Figs. 9 and 10, and is also seen in place in Fig. 8, as is the Windlass TI and drum 18, in which a modified form of discharge conveyor is shown, to be described later.

Referring to Figs. 8, 11 and 12, I have shown modification in the discharge conveyor and in which a box-like body in cross section is shown, designated 85, with rollers, as 88, at its opposite ends, and an endless belt 81 is operated thereon, as indicated in Fig. 11. In Fig. 12, I have shown a variation in which pusher slats 88, on an endless chain 88', and moving on a floor, as 90, moves the material. In the outer end of said conveyor is a shaft 9| with means, as at 92, for moving the roller for the purpose of tightening said chain, in a well known manner.

In Figs. 1'3, 14 and 15, I have shown mechanism for making use of hydraulic power means for operating the discharge or delivery conveyor in place of the sprockets, chains, and gears. In

. this mechanism, I have shown an oil pump I00,

driven from the power shaft IOI, by a sprocket chain I02, in the manner indicated at the right of Fig. 13, and also indicated in Fig. 14, where the sprockets are designated I03 and I04 for said chain I02. This pump pulls oil from a reservoir I05, and forces it through the pipe I06, the flexible tube I01, to a hydraulic motor I08, which drives a sprocket I09, on which is a sprocket chain IIO, to a sprocket III, on the shaft of the discharge tube or member and its screw propeller, before described, and referred to as 50, I2 and I3. The hydraulic oil or fluid from the hydraulic motor I08 is returned through pipe II2 to the reservoir I05, thus completing the circuit. A valve H3 is shown for use as a diversion valve. Thus I have shown how hydraulic means can be used in driving the material moving means in the discharge or delivery conveyor 50, which hydraulic power means is operated from the motor of the vehicle.

Broadly considered, I have provided in connection with the body and the feed conveyor means in the bottom thereof, a discharge or delivery conveyor having one end pivotally supported under the end of said feed conveyor, with a two part member interposed therebetween for directing material from the feed conveyor to the delivery conveyor so as to prevent escape of material, with means for operating and adjusting said delivery conveyor, and with means for driving its material moving mean from the motor of the vehicle, but I do not limit the invention to the details of construction and arrangement shown for explanatory purposes, except as I may be limited by the hereto appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a motor operated material handling machine, the combination with a motor vehicle having a body arranged with diiferent compartments to receive and handle difierent materials in bulk, with cover means for said body, of a material conveyor in the bottom of said body in the formmember between the feed end of said conveyors in the bottom of said body and said delivery car:

rier, said receiving intermediate member being composed of two interfitting parts open at their tops to receive material, and having an opening in their bottoms to discharge said material to said delivery carrier, means in said delivery carrier for moving material therealong to the discharge end thereof, means for raising and lowering said delivery carrier, said delivery carrier being also movable laterally to different places for discharge of said material, and means for connecting the power of said motor vehicle for operating said delivery carrier.

2. In a motor operated material handling machine, the combination therewith of a material handling body having in its bottom a pair of parallel U-shaped trough-like members with conveyors therein for moving material therealong, power means for driving said conveyors, slide doors over said U-shaped trough-like members with rack and gear means for operating them, to permit materials to be dropped into said troughlike members, a pivotally supported delivery conveyor having one end under the discharge ends of said trough-like members to receive material therefrom, and interfitting means between the ends of said members and said delivery conveyor for directing said material from one to the other without loss of any material.

3. In a motor operated material handling vehicle having a body to receive materials for trans-, portation and delivery in bulk, two U-shaped trough-like members in the bottom of said body to receive materials therefrom, slide doors over said trough-like members with means for manually operating them selectively to deposit material from said body into said trough-like members, conveyors in said trough-like members, with connections with power means for driving them to move materials therealong to the discharge ends thereof, a delivery conveyor pivotally supported at one end under the ends of said trough-like members, to receive materials therefrom, said de-v livery conveyor being movably supported to be moved up and down and sidewise for delivery purposes, and a connecting receiving member between the ends of said trough-like members and the receiving end of said delivery conveyor, said member being two parts with one part connected with the ends of said trough-like members, and the other part connected with and moving with the connected end of said delivery conveyor, the two parts being nested together one within the other to receive material from one and deposit it with the other for delivery through said delivery conveyor.

4. A motor operated material handling vehicle having a body to receive materials for transportation, said body being large at its top and tapering on its opposite sides to a narrow structure with a trough-like bottom, hinged covers for the top of said body and cover means over said trough-like bottom, a propeller insaid troughlike bottom for moving material therealong to its discharge end, a delivery conveyor having one end pivotally supported under the discharge end of said trough-like member to receive material therefrom, a spherical member on said troughlike member, open at its top to receive material therefrom, and open in its bottom, a spherical member on said. delivery conveyor in interfitting relationship with said first spherical member to turn therein about a horizontal axis and also to swing about a vertical axis, the overlapping sides of said spherical members confining the material therein, while permitting it to pass therethrough from one to the other and to said delivery conveyor, a propeller in said delivery conveyor for moving material therealong to the discharge end thereof, means for power operating said propellers in said conveyors, and means for supporting and raising and lowering said delivery conveyor, for the purpose described.

5. A motor operated material handling vehicle having a body to receive the materials for transportation, said body being large at its top and tapering to a narrow structure with a trough-like bottom, cover means for said trough-like bottom, a propeller in said trough-like bottom for moving material therealong to its discharge end, a delivery conveyor having one end pivotally supported under the discharge end of said troughlike member to receive material therefrom, a spherical member on said trough-like member, open at its top to receive material therefrom, and open in its bottom, a spherical member on said delivery conveyor in interfitting relationship with said first spherical member to turn therein about a horizontal axis and also to swing about a verti' cal axis, the overlapping sides of said spherical member confining the material therein, while permitting it to pass therethrough from one to the other and to said delivery conveyor, a propeller in said delivery conveyor for moving material therealongto the discharge end thereof. means for power operating said propellers in said conveyors, and means for supporting and raising and lowering said delivery conveyor.

CLARENCE J. POTTER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 802,698 Kern, Jr. Oct. 24, 1905 2,093,300 Adams et a1 Sept. 14, 1937 2,103,210 Myers Dec. 21, 1937 2,417,020 Shugart Mar. 4, 1947 2,438,301 Schulte Mar. 23, 1948 2,439,541 Hall Apr. 13, 1948 2,464,217 Dillingham Mar. 15, 1949 2,470,836 Piper May 24, 1949 

